Toledo, Spain: INTERPOL convened a major regional conference in Toledo on May 20 and 21, bringing together more than 140 senior police officials from Europe and other regions to discuss evolving threats posed by transnational organized crime.
The conference focused on growing challenges such as international drug trafficking, cyber-enabled fraud, financial crimes, human trafficking, and criminal networks exploiting digital platforms and legitimate businesses. Officials discussed how organized crime groups are increasingly using crime-as-a-service ecosystems and industrial-scale scam centres to target victims globally.
Senior officials including Spain’s Secretary of State for Security Aina Calvo Sastre, INTERPOL President Lucas Philippe, and INTERPOL Secretary General Valdecy Urquiza emphasized the importance of international police cooperation, intelligence sharing, and coordinated operational action to combat borderless crime.
The conference also reviewed developments in tackling drug trafficking routes, illicit financial flows, cybercrime, and human trafficking networks. Delegates were briefed on INTERPOL tools such as the I-GRIP stop-payment mechanism and Silver Notices, which help trace and recover criminal assets internationally.
During the meeting, officials also highlighted the success of the “Identify Me” campaign, through which international cooperation recently helped identify a 16-year-old girl whose body was discovered in Germany in 2001, marking another breakthrough in a long-pending cold case investigation.
